Fanfare of the Raven
by Biddieboo
Summary: Once upon a time, a nameless character found a hole in their story, everyday, the character would look through the hole to see an amazing new With all of its heart it wished to be in this different .. but some things, are better left
1. Preface

_AN: First of all, I will be referring to the characters in the following fashions: Ahiru, Fakir, Rue and Mytho. Nothing belongs to me. It will be primarily Fakir/Ahiru, because I love them. Thing will take little while to get into motion. Thanks for reading! Apologies about the delayed update (can I even call it a delay if it's been like three years?).  
_

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a man who spun terrifying, and tragic tales. Fearing his power, the people severed his hands from his body, so he could no longer pen out those stories which interfered with reality. Unbeknownst to them, the man had created a machine, which would continue to write, using his own blood as ink. The story featured the man himself, pulling the strings of the characters, the plot, all from within the story itself. The man loved misfortune and concocted the perfect tragedy.

The tragic tale that was spun featured a prince, a monstrous raven, a useless knight and two princesses. The prince took out his own heart (that which the raven wished for most) to seal away the evil raven. The knight, was destined to die at the very claws of the monster. What of the princesses? One was the daughter of the very raven that the prince battled. The other, was a false princess, whose true form was that of a duck. The duck used a pendant to transform into Princess Tutu, to reunite the prince with his heart. Princess Kraehe, the princess of the ravens, dyed one of the shards of the prince's heart in raven's blood - which turned him into the prince of ravens. Even so, the princess loved him still. The knight, useless with a sword in his hand, took up a pen in its stead, and wrote out their story. Through both of the princesses' love, the prince became whole once again, and with the help of the pen of the knight, he vanquished the raven and saved his princess, who had been held captive by the horrible raven. Princess Tutu turned back into a duck, and she and the knight, and the prince and his princess, lived happily ever after...  
Nonetheless, this was a work of fiction, written within the confines of a book, but when those pages ended... Who was there to close the cover?

* * *

Evening had fallen in Iwaku, the stars were dim and the moon hung low, barely a sliver of a crescent in the sky. Wind swept through the otherwise silent town, which disturbed dust that rose from the cobblestone streets in small twisters. The cobble lay in fractures, grasses and flowers grew from in between these fissures. The buildings that lined the streets were in disrepair, planks of wood nailed haphazardly across broken windows and doorways. From the alleyway that was formed by two rather large buildings, a figure emerged from the shadows. Clad in an overtly large gray cloak, with the hood pulled low to cover their face in shadow. The figure hastened down the street, each step made a muffled clack, followed by the tinkle of a song. It crossed the town, and approached a wide building, that spanned a block in either direction. It strode up the staircase with quick steps, and paused at the boarded off door. A large metal lock encircled the wooden doorhandles. An aging plaque was to the right of the door, it was covered in thick layers of rust, intercepting the words written there. All that could be seen was part of the last word, "rary." The figure lifted a hand from the confines of the cloak, nestled in its hand was a large silver key, which the figure promptly plunged into the lock and gave a sharp twist. The sounds of the lock's mechanism tumbling, resounded loud enough, that the figure twitched.

The door let a groan escape as it barely opened an inch. The figure placed their hands upon the wood and heaved, the door gave way, and it then slipped inside. Darkness pressed close with a tangible effect, the figure leaned back against the door and gave a shove, the door moaned itself shut. The figure straightened and strode to a table, it removed a box from inside of its cloak and snapped it open, it drew a match from its depths with quick efficiency. It struck the match against the box and a flame danced to life, keeping the darkness at bay. A broken lantern rested on the table, the figure moved the match over the wick and in a few short moments the wick caught. The figure straightened the lantern, and lifted it from its place, pieces of glasses fell as the figure proceeded through the book stacks. With nimble steps, it avoided the books that lay on the floor, and the holes that had formed in the wooden flooring. It moved to the back of the library, before long, it stood before yet another stack, however, this one, the figure took hold of and shoved aside. It screeched loudly as it fell to the ground, books tumbled from its shelves as it went. Behind the bookcase was a red velvet curtain, with a flourish, the figure swept the curtain aside, revealing a silver door. Upon the door, designs were etched into the surface. Twin swans entwining up from the floor, heads tilted around a crown and crow's feather. A sword entered the door's picture from the left, while a crow's wing entered from the right. The figure raised its hand once again, this time, in its palm rested a pendant. It swung slightly from the end of its chain, glinting red in the flame's glow. The pendant grew brighter, shining a steady red, the swans on the door began to shine with a golden light. They pealed away from the door flapping golden wings and tossing their heads. They encircled the figure before flying toward the window of the library, but before they could leave they disappeared. The figure ignored the swan's disappearance, its eyes glued to the door. The sword arced across the door, piercing the raven's wing on the right, they too, died away. The crown and feather grew in size, until the crown broke into two, and both consumed each other, until the door lay bare of any design.

A click sounded from on the inside of the door, and air flooded around the figure as the door began to open, and then disappeared completely, as if it had never been there. The figure raised its head and walked through the opening that the door had left unguarded. It descended the steps, as they spiraled down, seemingly forever. As the figure went, flames flickered to life in the walls. Yet further down the figure traveled, the air grew cold, its breath formed clouds of mist as it breathed. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, it stepped onto the level landing, and raced up to the small room set to the side. In the figure went. A small study was presented before it, a desk that stretched the length of one wall, a stool placed before it. Feathers black as pitch littered the room, as well as papers, inks and books, they all lay in disarray about the room. On the desk was a book, it was open, and it was on the last page. The back cover rested firmly against the desk. A single coal black feather rested against the bright white page. The figure went up to the book, and looked down upon the last page, brushing the feather away.

"...Once upon a time a man died. The last story that the man had spun should have ended in extraordinary tragedy. However, the story turned out to have a happy ending. The reason for that ending was one little duck the man himself called into the story. And so, a man started to write a story. That story, overflowing with hope had just begun..."

Where the feather had been, it left an inky mark. The figure touched the page, nothing was written after the sentence, it was merely blank. There were no words, such as "The End" or even, "They lived happily ever after." The figure pulled the pendant from its cloak once again and placed it against the page of the book, it flared brightly, before turning pitch black. It hesitated a step back, its arm trembling.

"It is hopeless... After all..." The mark on the page began to spread, and it swirled up and thinned, looping in and out and curving gracefully. The figure watched as the mark formed the words,

"Once upon a time..."


	2. Chapter 1: The Black Pendant

_AN: So hello once again! It has literally been more than three years since I've posted on this story. I'm so, so sorry about that! I've been dabbling out bits and pieces over time. College definitely sucked up so much of my time, and to be honest I forgot about this place for a while, as you're all aware. This is quite a long chapter, so hopefully that'll make up for the extended absence (it totally won't though)! _

_As a reminder, I won't be using honorifics, the characters are referred to as: Mytho, Rue, Fakir, and Ahiru._

* * *

Winter had finally faded into spring, flowers began to blossom, trees to bud, birds to sing and the natural joy of the season began to grow in the people. Kinkan town was in the throes of revival, coming alive from a subdued winter. The stores on the streets opened their doors and moved their wares onto the walk, the cafes moved tables outdoors and the children took it upon themselves to play outside.

The little duckling from our previous story was also taken up in the natures of spring. The yellow feathered duck swam upon a small lake, wading in the shallows, she dove beneath the water, searching for small fish to eat. Surfacing she sighed and simply basked in the sunshine, as her webbed feet paddled gently below her.

"Ahiru?" A masculine voice called out, the duck blinked and tilted her head toward the voice. A man stood on a dock that jutted out into her lake. She kept her distance, paddling in a small circle. "Ahiru? Come on, it's dinner time," the man called again, crouching on his knees and placing his tanned hand near the water. The duck watched this man with suspicion, her blue eyes narrowed slightly at his advances. He seemed familiar to her, she wondered why, then she began to wonder why she should even wonder. She turned her back on the man and began to paddle toward the weeds. The man sighed and tapped the water with his fingers, a smile crept up along the corners of his mouth. "Ahiru, I'll let you read my new story if you come out," the man bribed. The duck's body perked up at the suggestion, and she began to wade toward the man's hand. For some reason, she knew this was something she definitely wanted, though she wasn't sure what a story was. She crept up close and he dipped his fingers further into the water, the duck swam into his palm and he lifted her from the water. The duck panicked and began to struggle.

"Quack!" The duck cried, flapping her wings wildly. The man took her in a firm, but gentle hold.

"It's okay Ahiru, calm down, it's me," the man said quietly. The duck stopped her struggles and gazed up at his emerald eyes.

"Qua-?" She mumbled and tears formed in her eyes, _Fakir! _she thought suddenly. The man was no longer threatening, he was Fakir, her friend. She had forgotten. She made a small sound and seemed to shrink in Fakir's hands. His expression was pained, but he chased it away and flicked Ahiru on the head.

"Quack! Quack, quack!" Ahiru snapped, flapping her wings at Fakir's hand. He smirked.

"Enough of that little duck, come on, the food's getting cold," he stated, with that he turned and walked up the dock and into the small cottage in which he lived. He opened the door and closed it behind him, using his unoccupied hand, he lit the lantern to his right, for the sun was slowly setting in the distance. Two plates sat across from each other at the small wooden table in the kitchen, Fakir set Ahiru down on the table. She ruffled her feathers and sat on her feet. She watched as Fakir moved to the stove and, with oven mitts on his hands, lifted a pot from the burner. He placed it on the table and used a tong to pull a corn on the cob from the water. He placed it on Ahiru's plate and she lunged at it. Fakir slammed the tongs down on the table, right in front of Ahiru. His gaze murderous, Ahiru gave a breathy squeak.

"Let it cool, Ahiru, you burned yourself last time." Ahiru gulped and sat back, waiting for Fakir who dished himself a different cob, plus a piece of steak and some potatoes. Ahiru no longer liked to eat meat, she used to be able to eat potatoes, but even that was becoming unappealing. Fakir took a fish fillet from the oven, and slid that onto Ahiru's plate before taking a seat himself. He lighted the candles upon the table and then nodded once to Ahiru who happily began to peck at her meal. Fakir was a bit less enthusiastic, he watched Ahiru eat and worried silently. Ever since she had become a permanent duck, she seemed to be forgetting things.

At first it was little things, like not trying to dance, or not looking at him while he spoke. However, as time continued to pass, she became more and more like your everyday duck. Lately, she had even began to forget him, which truly worried him. He had thought he would have been able to write her story, even turn her back into a girl, if he tried hard enough. However, it had been four years, and he had made no progress. He was infuriated by his lack of success, which was only agitated by Ahiru's frail memories. Fakir silently mulled, for the thousandth time, over the fact that with Drosselmeyer gone, so too had gone the magic of the town. Which also meant Fakir's ability to bring stories to life. He sighed and moved his fork in slow motions around his plate, staring blankly out of the window.

Unbeknownst to Fakir, Ahiru was watching him from the corner of one big blue eye as she furiously pecked at her corn. She had noticed Fakir worrying, his brow was almost always furrowed, and a frown nearly always set on his face. She could hear him late at night scribbling on paper until the early hours of dawn, and frustratingly groaning and tearing the sheets up. She didn't know what he was trying to do exactly, but he had lost weight, and he always looked unhappy.

Ahiru stopped eating and stared at her half eaten corn on the cob sadly. She felt like she didn't belong there anymore. Not with Fakir anyway. She felt like she was supposed to be somewhere else… the thought of a misty pond floated into her head. Filled with frogs and little fish to eat, and just enough space for her to swim. Lots of grass and reeds to nest in. She sighed and picked a bit more at her meal but she had lost interest in it and stood up and waddled to the edge of the table and sat, staring out of the window. Fakir looked up when Ahiru moved and sighed, putting his chin in his hand as he regarded her unfinished meal. She had been doing that a lot lately as well.

"Are you finished Ahiru?" He asked her. She looked over at him and her eyes were a bit wet, as if she were holding back tears. Fakir felt a sharp pain in his chest at the sight of her face. She looked lost. He reached across the table and gently brushed her feathers with his fingers. "Don't worry Ahiru, I'll figure something out." _And I will, _he thought desperately, he would find a way.

Ahiru didn't know what he meant, but the communication barrier once again struck her as she let out a breathy quack and scooted her legs so her body was more firmly pressed against his outstretched fingers.

They sat like that for at time, Ahiru watching the sun descend outside, and Fakir watching her. He eventually got up and cleared away their half eaten food, and washed the plates briskly. He rubbed his fingers against his brow and with some effort cleared his expression. He turned with a smile and picked Ahiru up from the table. He took her back into the house and climbed the ladder to the loft. Ahiru was used to this ride and she was already quite tired. Fakir set her on the makeshift bed he had made just for her. It had a fluffy pink blanket wrapped inside a small oaken box that she dove under and stuck her head out one end. He smiled and pulled off his shirt and tossed it into a corner.

Ahiru's eyes popped wide and she was suddenly very glad she was a duck and couldn't blush. As it was, she flipped her wing over her eyes, but peeked under it anyway. Fakir had lost weight, but that didn't make him any worse for wear to look at. Not yet anyway, Ahiru thought suddenly, and her embarrassment fled just as quickly as it had come. She pulled her head back under the blanket and curled up. She remembered Fakir would tease her like that all the time at first, pulling his shirt off where she could see, making quips about skinny dipping and the like. She found she liked that Fakir, not the stubborn one who was always worried. He had been that way before they saved Mytho, and more and more, he was becoming like that again, only this time, because of her. With those thoughts heavy in her mind, Ahiru drifted to sleep.

* * *

In her dream, Ahiru was running. She gasped and looked down at a pair of pale legs. She quickly felt all over her body, finding legs, arms, toes, fingers and all. She slapped her hands to her face and spun in a circle laughing. She was human again! She didn't care how it had happened! She spun once more before stopping and began running in earnest. She had to find Fakir and tell him, he was going to be so surprised.

Ahiru ran through the streets, toward the cottage that the two of them had shared for the past four years. She stopped in front of the windows of a shop quickly to asses her appearance. She grinned at herself, she looked fine, just like she always had before. She took up her pace again and finally saw the cottage. Through the window the small glow of the lamp that Fakir usually used when he was writing. She bounced up to the door and flung it open,

"Fakir!" She called, her voice not quite pitching as high as she remembered. She took a step and then shrieked as she fell face first into water. She dropped as quickly as a stone and though she swam for the surface, she only seemed to sink faster. She lost control of her lips and bubbles burst from her mouth before she clapped her hands over her mouth. Only, her hands weren't there, only useless wings that didn't do anything to prevent her bill from spewing more bubbles. Fakir, Ahiru thought, her eyes bright with tears, Fakir!

Ahiru woke up with a start, toppling over the edge of her makeshift bed and letting out a high pitched squawk as she tumbled to the ground. She got up and shook her head a bit to clear away the dream. She looked around, expecting to see Fakir at his desk, or still in bed. She didn't see him, and she let out a couple of quick chirping sounds. She waddled over to the top of the ladder and chirped a couple of times more. She couldn't get down the later without Fakir's help. She stared at the rungs in despair, and then slapped her wing to her forehead, she had forgotten she could just fly down. She spread her wings wide and then jumped, flapping just enough to land, rather haphazardly, on the coffee table. She panted a bit and looked around for Fakir, it was unlike him to not leave a note or anything.

She made another chirping sound. Usually, when she made that sound, Fakir would come find her right away it was their established "help/where are you?" sound. She waited for a little longer and then felt her feathers rise in alarm. She fluttered in circles around the table worrying about where he was. She missed her footing and slipped over the edge of the table, with an alarmed quack she flapped her wings awkwardly to try to keep up, but gravity wasn't having any of it. She braced for impact, squinting her eyes shut and hunching her wings. She fell into a warm palm instead of the har floor. She blinked open her eyes and her gaze fell on the top of Fakir's head. His face was against the floor, and his arms outstretched to catch her. She imagined he dove on the floor to grab her in time. He lifted his head and let his chin rest on the floor, giving her a look.

"Qua," she said quietly, embarrassed but thankful. She flapped her wings on his head gently. He let her pat his head and then a slow smile came across his face.

"I meant it to be a surprise but, since you're already up," he began slowly pulling himself up, scooping Ahiru as he went. He picked up a piece of severely wrinkled and ripped piece of paper and held it so Ahiru could see. The flyer's title was emblazoned on the top, "Mytho and Rue Return to Kikan!" Ahiru gasped and quickly read the rest of the flyer, which had Mytho and Rue in the middle of a pas de deux. The show was tonight, and they were going to be the leads in Swan Lake. Ahiru excitedly jumped up and down and began to "talk" to Fakir. He sat down and placed the flyer on the table as Ahiru dissected it again. He smiled softly as she continued to quack and chirp in excitement. She hadn't done that in awhile and it made him feel better.

"Did you want to go?" He asked. She looked up at him with a blank look and flipped her wing at him. Fakir tilted his head back and laughed. "Sorry, sorry, of course you do. I thought it was polite to ask." She flapped up and gave a peck-kiss on his cheek before returning to the flyer. She would see Mytho and Rue again! They had left on a worldwide tour over a year ago. "They open tonight," Fakir continued as he stood and began to prepare for lunch. "I thought we might get some shopping done in the meantime."

Ahiru paused thoughtfully and regarded Fakir's back. She was surprised he wanted her to come with. Usually he left her to her own devices at home when he had to go into town. Still, if he offered she wasn't about to refuse.

They finished shopping, or rather, Fakir finished his shopping. Ahiru stayed in his bag the whole time, peering out from time to time as she got bored. It started to rain on their way back. Fakir brought the groceries home and unpacked them, placing them in their new homes. The sun had made its trek across the sky and it was nearing the time for the performance. They left the cottage, with Ahiru tucked back into his bag. Fakir walked slowly, enjoying the night air. He felt bad that she had to be in his bag. It got problematic if he took her out in stores, or even sometimes outside on the walk. People didn't understand his "obsession over a duck" and many thought it was odd. Fakir didn't care what they thought, but once a shop owner had grabbed Ahiru and thrown her out of his shop. That was enough of a warning for him, and he insisted on keeping her in his bag after that.

Most of the audience had already moved into the large ballet house. Fakir stood in line patiently until he reached the front. He offered his ticket to the receptionist and she took it, ripped it and gave him back the stub.

"2A, go down to your right and follow the directions from the man inside," she said, her voice bored, and she popped a bubble with her gum. Fakir moved to go into the building, but Ahiru began to struggle in his bag. He placed a hand against the bag.

"Ahiru, wait a second, we're almost in," he whispered frantically, trying to keep her from coming out. The woman at the desk gave him a suspicious look, and men and women in line turned to see who was making a fuss. Ahiru's head popped out of the bag and she let out a loud quack before fluttering and pulling herself out the rest of the way. Fakir made to grab for her, but she fluttered up and out of his hands, before tumbling to the ground.

"Hey!" Cried the woman behind the ticket counter. "You can't bring a freaking duck into the theatre buddy!" Fakir ignored her and followed after Ahiru as she hurriedly began to waddle away.

"Ahiru wait, come back here," he called after her, trying not to get too close as she made small sounds of distress.

A large man suddenly moved from between two building and didn't see the small duck in front of him. Fakir hissed and darted forward, catching the man in mid-step and pushing him back. Ahiru let out a cry and stumbled, falling straight through the bars of a drainage pipe. Fakir gasped and stuck his hand in after her, but she was gone.

"Ahiru!" He shouted, the blood draining from his face. "Ahiru!"

* * *

Ahiru had been patient in Fakir's bag, but she was so bored and hot. She wanted to watch Mytho and Rue, but she needed some air. She shifted in Fakir's bag and sighed at length. It will be worth it, she thought stuffily, to see Mytho and Rue dancing. She wondered, as she did sometimes, why Fakir never danced anymore. He seemed to have thrown it away in favor of writing. Ahiru didn't mind, she liked the stories he shared with her, but she was sad too. He had loved dancing, hadn't he? She couldn't be sure. Ahiru blinked and suddenly, she didn't know why she was held, suffocatingly in a bag. She was a duck.

She struggled vehemently. She heard a voice and she let out a loud quack and she got her head free. Free! She needed to get away. Her heart raced as she finally propelled herself out of the cage. Someone made to grab for her but she put extra power in her wings to avoid the hands. She hurried down the street, she didn't know where she was. She needed to find some water or some reeds to hide in. She heard the approach of a person and she let out tiny quacks as she looked back. Suddenly, the huge figure lunged forward and she cried out, losing her footing. She slipped between the bars, and heard the man's voice yelling out.

The water spilled over the duck's head and she choked on the bad tasting water. She flapped her wings to try to right herself, but the current pulled her along. She made frantic sounds and tried her best to keep above the water, but she was tiring quickly. She suddenly slammed up against something and stayed there, the water rushing against her and then around. Something curled around her body and she was pulled upward. She gasped and struggled to get free of this new trap.

A large metal hand was around her. It was connected to a strange metal box and a spring. A cloaked person stood behind the contraption, its hand resting on the turner. The metal hand dropped her as quickly as it had picked her up creaking back into its box home. The small duck lay on the cold ground, panting.

"Ahiru," the figure spoke her name, with a voice familiar to her. The duck looked up, who was Ahiru? "Fear not Ahiru, I know you, and you know me." The figure came around the box and knelt before the small duck who trembled pitifully. The figure pushed its hood back, revealing a very pale, narrow face. Two rosy circles were painted on her cheeks, and her green hair was oddly cut to frame her face.

"Edel!" Ahiru remembered her and she cried the name out. She gasped and put her wings to her bill in shock. She had spoken! "Edel?" She repeated again, almost too terrified to try again.

"Yes," the puppet agreed gently. She picked Ahiru up from the ground and carried her over to a small fountain. Water gurgled from the mouths of two frogs wrapped around each other. She set Ahiru down on the lip of the fountain and knelt before her.

"Edel I don't understand, why are you here? How come I can talk now? Is Drosslmeyer with you? How..." Ahiru stopped speaking and let out a small sound of dismay. She had forgotten herself. She knew that sometimes she daydreamed before… but this was different, she had forgotten who she was. Edel watched her sadly.

"I cannot answer all of your questions Ahiru. I know not the answers. Listen to me," Edel set a hand against Ahiru's small body. "The story has begun again, forgive me, for it was my responsibility to protect that place… but I failed in that duty. You must help me Ahiru. If you do not, I fear the end for all of the things you fought so desperately for." Edel stood up and flipped her cloak back. She pulled a necklace from her pocket. Set against the golden chain was a large, black, oval gem. Edel held the necklace out to Ahiru. "You once changed the fate of an entire story, a small duck like you, perhaps you can do so yet again..."

Edel reached forward and slipped the necklace over Ahiru's head. Ahiru stared down at her pendant, touching it gently with a wing. "It is tainted. Your first task is to become that which you once were. Revive the pendant Ahiru."

"Edel… I don't understand, protect the citizens? Revive the pendant? How? Why?" Ahiru gazed trustingly up at her friend. Edel smiled and kissed the duck on her small head.

"All answers will come in time. I cannot stay long. I must go," Edel stood back, her cloak falling back over her shoulders, and she flipped her hood back over her head. "Remember Ahiru, even in the darkest of night, the light of the sun will eventually shine." With that, Edel seemed to melt away into a dark alley. The light seemed to shift after she was gone. Ahiru blinked and looked around, she remembered this place, she was still in Kinkan town. Was she meant to protect these people? From what? From who? Ahiru paced back and forth on the lip of the fountain, her wings to her head in confusion.

"Quack!" She cried out in frustration and then slapped her wings to her bill. She couldn't talk anymore! She sounded like a duck. She pulled her wings back and tried again, but she could only make duck sounds. Her pendant was still about her neck, but it was black as pitch, and felt heavier than she remembered. Ahiru stopped pacing and stood firm. First thing was first, she had to find Fakir. He would know what to do. She hopped down from the fountain and hurried along the streets. The lanterns that lined the curbs began to flicker on as the sun finally sunk below the horizon.

Luckily Ahiru was not far from the theatre where she had lost Fakir. She came up to it rather quickly and fluttered up to the doors. Was Fakir inside? Or had he gone to look for her. She looked up and down the street, before she fluttered up to a window and peered inside. It was too dark… but as she thought it, a light flashed on over the audience, and Ahiru picked out Fakir's spiky black hair. She let out a quack and tried to wedge the window open. It snapped up on its own accord, sending Ahiru tumbling into the theatre. She shook her head and rubbed her bottom as she stood up. She fluttered onto the nearest seat and looked out over the audience. Something wasn't quite right. Everyone sat in perfect silence, a violin strung sweet melodies from somewhere distant. Ahiru hopped onto a man's head and looked over his brow at his face. She gasped in surprise and looked around at everyone. They all had blank, smiling faces. Their eyes were glazed over and they watched without seeing the stage. Panicked, Ahiru quickly fluttered to the front, moving toward Fakir. She quickly landed on his hand and looked up at him, and fell back to the ground with a squawk. It wasn't Fakir, it was some other person. Fakir! Ahiru thought in despair. Where was he?

"Oh. Little duck. I see you've come to see our blank faced audience," a gravely voice intoned. Ahiru's head popped up and she flapped her wings to perch on the top of one of the audience's heads.

"Drosselmeyer!" She cried out, and she could speak! What was going on? She thought. The old man still had his funny, feathered hat on. He looked just the same since Ahiru had last seen him. He was under the spotlight, and was dancing, pirouetting as Ahiru watched.

"The story has begun again, without my permission too! What a terrible turn of events little duck. Just terrible… oh but maybe not so terrible after all, but without my permission! I cannot stand such a thing," Drosselmeyer intones as he picked up his left leg and hopped a couple of times before bowing to the audience. They lifted their hands as one and clapped mechanically.

"Drosselmeyer, please, what happened to everyone, what's going on?" Ahiru cried, she was so confused! No one seemed to be able to answer her questions, not Edel and not Drosselmeyer.

"Oh tut-tut little duck, I am not the one in control this time. My strings were cut long ago. Someone else pens the tale. Better hurry little duck, things are changing as we speak!" Drosselmeyer's bow ended and he stood up straight, the spotlight blinked out and plunged the room into darkness. Ahiru flew over the heads of the audience, and back to the window she had gotten through. She hopped onto the ledge and saw that Drosselmeyer had been right. The world outside the ballet house was swirling about. The colors drained into one another, the houses groaned and leaned. The stars above her head spiraled dizzily. Ahiru just stared in complete shock. What was happening?

The town gave a final eerie creak, and then things snapped suddenly into their new places. Ahiru lost her footing and fell to the sidewalk. She looked up and saw that things had become different. The shops, the sidewalk, even the ballet house behind her had taken on another appearance. She didn't think she was still in Kinkan town, but some other place she didn't know.

"Oh Fakir…" Ahiru whispered, watching as people began to suddenly appear all around her. Some in mid-step, others drinking tea or chatting with their friends. Each appeared as suddenly as the last. "Where are you?" She asked, tears welled in her blue eyes and she covered them with her wings in confused despair.

* * *

_AN: Okay so things are a bit confusing, but they'll make more sense as we move into the story! As to why Edel is "alive" again and as to what's actually going on. The story has adopted a that bit of mystery element. Hope you guys stick around. I promise, PROMISE, the next update will be in less than three years haha._

_Nanenna: Thanks for the advice. Still not sure what I'm doing, after three years, they've updated so much stuff again. Probably going to bumble through for awhile :)_


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